Advancing building decarbonization and resilience in LAC through international cooperation

Date: 26 October 2023

Time: 10:30-11:30 EST

Location: Contadora Ill, Mariott Panama Hotel, Panama City, Panama

Organizers: United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP); Global Alliance for Buildings and Construction (GlobalABC)

This is an official Track 2 Event of the Latin America and the Caribbean Climate Week 2023. 

Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC), despite contributing only 3% to global CO2 emissions, experience a disproportionate impact from climate change. Half of Latin American citizens live in countries with high or extreme climate vulnerability. The current resilience of buildings against the escalating effects of climate change is low, particularly in informal housing where a quarter of Latin America’s urban population live. As population grows and markets develop, construction and urbanisation will peak, further intensifying the region’s vulnerability to climate change impacts.

With the built environment globally responsible for ca. 40% of annual global energy-related CO2 emissions, buildings offer an immense opportunity to drive transformative change and present the most cost-effective mitigation potential among all industrial sectors. It also brings opportunities of adopting building sustainability practices and increasing resilience. By 2050, the floor area in the LAC region is expected to grow by 65%, and the decarbonisation of the Latin American buildings and construction sector is valued at USD 4 trillion by 2030. The Latin American continent offers abundant opportunities in terms of land, geography, natural resources, untapped renewable energy potential, and a young and expanding workforce. This presents a real chance for the continent to leapfrog into a healthier and cleaner living environment.

Gathering speakers from national and local governments, civil society and the private sector, the event will demonstrate the importance of adopting multi-level and inclusive approaches to decarbonising the buildings and construction sector in Latin America and the Caribbean, and will showcase integrated and comprehensive strategies and actions to achieve the Paris Agreement objectives. It will also demonstrate the importance of international collaboration and collaborative models in bridging the gap between intention and action, and making this crucial decade a real tipping point in the creation of a more sustainable built environment.